Clemson's September Citizen-of-the-Month

Our office received many nominations and heard a lot of great stories of Clemson students demonstrating the Clemson core values. While we wish we could honor all of our nominees, there was one nomination that stood out from the rest. Thank you to all of our nominees for their service to Clemson.

However, I hope the entire Clemson community will join me in congratulating Tyler Graham, freshman student at Clemson University, as our Citizen-of-the-Month. Here is the nomination letter: 

"Just wanted to submit the name of Tyler Graham, a student at Clemson for his good deed done today. Tyler called our home phone looking for a 'Michael Speer' which happens to be both my husband and son's name. Tyler had found our son's ATM card and was hoping to return it to him. My son promptly received a call from Tyler and was able to retrieve his debit card within about 10 minutes of my call from Tyler. So nice to know the Clemson community is made up of fine, honest students like Tyler."

Submitted by Barb Speer, a Clemson parent.

This is just another example that Clemson students strive to live the Clemson core values and consistently make the right choices. Tyler thank you for your service to the Clemson community. Special thanks from the Office of Community and Ethical Standards, the Community Educators, and the Division of Student Affairs. When you see Tyler, roaming on campus please be sure to congratulate him.

-j-

Letter to Clemson University

Dear Clemson University,

In the Office of Community and Ethical Standards we strive to have positive interactions with each student we come in contact with. Even though students are referred to our office because their name was documented as part of an incident, we still take pride in the fact that we are educators first and we are here to support the students in their learning environment. We believe our efforts are working, as 85% of respondents to our satisfaction survey last year stated that the disciplinary process helped them to understand the standards and expectations of Clemson University. In our role as educators, we have begun a process to work with students to proactively educate the entire student body on the community standards, expectations, and Core Values to reduce the number of students referred to our office as part of an incident that occurred on or off-campus. In doing so, we have started two new initiatives that we wanted you to know about.

Citizen-of-the-Month

This program is an opportunity for our office to honor those students that are serving as a positive role model for others here at Clemson. Embodying the Clemson Core Values, these individuals set an example of integrity, honesty, and respect in everything that they do. Anyone from the Clemson community can nominate a student. All nominations are due by the 15th of each month (September-April) and can be sent to jcarte2@clemson.edu. The nomination should include the student’s name, email, and a brief statement as to why he or she should be the Citizen-of-the-Month. The winner and the names of all nominees for the month will be announced by the final Friday of each month on our Core Values website (Cucorevalues.blogspot.com), the OCES Website, and through Facebook. The winner will also receive a small token of our appreciation. So if you have an amazing friend, an awesome roommate, a caring mentor/mentee, a model resident, or an outstanding organization leader, please consider nominating them for this award.

Students Responsible for the Clemson Community

This group is sponsored by the Community Educators here at Clemson University. If you are unfamiliar with the Community Educators you can learn more on our website (http://www.clemson.edu/studentaffairs/oces/communityed/commeds.php). Students Responsible for the Clemson Community is a Facebook version of an initiative to find at least 1000 students this year to sign the pledge of the community educators stating that they are committed to supporting the core values of our institution and will question unfair, unjust, or uncivil behaviors of all members of the Clemson community. If you are interested in joining this movement, please search for us by title in Facebook. Currently, we have 29 members and are quickly growing. Soon you will also see us at tables set up in different areas of campus and can join that way as well.

In addition to the other programs and services we have put in place to better serve the student body, we hope these two initiatives will demonstrate our desire to be an entity that works with students on a variety of levels to continue to promote a safe and nurturing educational environment that encourages students to uphold Clemson University’s core values and standards. If you have any questions about these initiatives or want to know more about what OCES is doing to support our students, feel free to contact me. Thank you and have a week.

-JC-

The Dark Knight at Clemson

Many who have seen the summer blockbuster, The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale as the ever-popular Caped Crusader believe it to be the best Batman movie ever produced. Also Heath Ledger's performance of the popular nemesis, the Joker, has caused many to suggest that it is a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination. Even the performance of Aaron Eckhart as Gotham's white knight later turned twisted, double-personality, coin-flipper Two-Face, was a hit among hard core comic book fans.

The cast of the movie are also appearing in Clemson all over campus. The movies popularity around the world has so many Clemson students excited, that some have decided that they could not wait for the film's impending release to DVD and Blue Ray Disc and so have used their internet access available through Clemson University to illegally download the movie. Unfortunately, this type of activity is frowned upon by the music and film industry and is discouraged here at Clemson University. The Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are quick to prosecute individuals who are responsible for illegally downloading copyrighted materials. 

What this Means for You 

If you are a student who has used "University computing resources, including network facilities, account numbers, data storage media, printers, plotters, microcomputer systems, software," to illegally download copyrighted materials such as a movies, songs, etc., this is a violation of the University's Computer Misuse Policy. For more information on the Computer Misuse Policy please see the CCIT website. Continued misuse of Clemson's computing resources could result in termination of your internet access. 

If you have not used our resources to illegally obtain copyrighted materials, but still you are in possession of illegally downloaded music and/or movies, the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are actively seeking you out. Akin to theft, piracy is a crime and it does violate Federal, State, and Local Law. Every semester we receive letters from the recording and movie industry telling us of students who are currently violating U.S. Copyright Law. Even if you received something from a friend, according to the Motion Picture Association website, "The illegal downloading and swapping of movie files is a serious crime. Pirates and their affiliates will be tracked for engaging in Internet piracy." 

Some students seem to believe that committing piracy is a victimless crime. However, there are many consequences for engaging in this behavior and it does effect everyone, including movie-lovers. Much like department stores and shoplifting, ticket, music, and movie prices will continue to rise to compensate for the loss. 

Students Responsible for the Clemson Community

What does One Clemson mean to you? What does the term Clemson Family mean? Well, to a group of students, faculty, and staff it means holding ourselves and those around us accountable to the core values and standards of our community. It means speaking out and challenging unfair, unjust, or uncivil behaviors. If you are not a very vocal person, it could also mean to help promote the values of the Clemson community, or role-modeling the standards of our community that every student should live up to.

There is a new Facebook group available to Clemson students who are interested in becoming a part of this movement. Search under groups Students Responsible for the Clemson Community. There, you will find more information on how you can become involved in helping to create the nation's "most engaged, satisfied, and successful student body."

-j-

RA Training

I just wanted to give a big shout-out to all of the amazing Resident Assistants I have met over the past two days. I am very optimistic about this new group of RA's this year and I think the residents in University Housing will really benefit from the excitement, knowledge, and spirit of the Residential Life staff this year. While I was only supposed to be there to discuss procedural stuff, we ended up talking about so many other things both during the presentations and afterwards. 

First, I must say that this is a very honest group. None more honest than L.S! You want to know how they are feeling, all you have to do is ask. I also appreciate the fact that this group of RA's readily admits mistakes and wants to improve. We already know this group is filled with integrity just by the fact that they were selected to be an RA. However, having a chance to work with them again today for the Gantt Intercultural Center's One Clemson program I can see that this group is filled with a lot of respect for each, their residents, and other people in general. 

Kudos to Clemson University Housing for hiring such a fine group of role models for the Clemson community. Finally, the Byrnes boys continue to be one of my favorite groups by virtue of their energy, quirkiness, and the fact that they are in the OCES office as I type this for today's building time (an honorable mention must go to Manning, Lever, and Mauldin Halls as favorites as well).

-j-

Photo courtesy of www.hp-lexicon.org

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Professor Albus Dumbledore tells young Harry, "It is not our abilities that show us who we truly are, it is our choices." This is a very important point to consider when we are addressing the issue of ethical choices. Are the values that you hold dear, being reflected in the choices that you are making? If they do, we commend you and want to hear from you. Please post a comment about a time when you had to make a difficult choice, but considered your personal values before making the choice.

I can tell you the story of one student, which once you read this may sound like a story that is very familiar to you. This student decided to go with some friends to a party at a local apartment. There was plenty of people there at the party, and there was plenty of alcohol available to drink too. No one was checking identification, and anyone who attended the party could drink freely and without interference. Even though several of her friends were drinking and encouraged her to participate as well she chose not to drink as engaging in that type of behavior was not something she valued. Tell us your story.

Leadership and the Core Values

I have been out of the office for a couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean I wasn't working.  I gave a presentation to a group of Student Affairs staff members and College of Health, Education, and Human Development faculty on incorporating core values education into the classroom. I think it was a very good presentation even if I do look like a dork! 

Check out the link below and tell me what you think. For those using Mac's, it may not come through. Let me know if you are having troubles and I will post for you some directions.

JC

http://dle-mediasite-hehd.clemson.edu/Mediasite/Viewer?peid=2219d261-798f-45e5-8ecf-e39a94f928d1